


Everlasting Stars

by Sk3tchb00k



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Original Character(s), Other, Parent Tony Stark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-07-29 08:59:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 10,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16260929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sk3tchb00k/pseuds/Sk3tchb00k
Summary: Novalis has always been a problem child. Since her mother was a psychopath and her father was never in her life, she became a street rat and scavenger. Everything changes when she stumbles upon a very special someone, who changes her life.





	1. Prolouge: A Genius and an Astronomer

**The Genius and The Astronomer**

_January 2002_

Tony Stark, the man every girl dreamed of. Trinity Lee was a friend of his at MIT, but she followed her dreams of being an astronomer. Now many years later, she saw Tony at a party and smirked happily. She had always been intrigued by the man, she desired him.

Tony had always sought after the young stargazer, she was a challenge to his usual flirting games. At his major party, he saw her walking in, adorned in a long black dress that complimented her blonde curls that made a ring around her shoulder. He wanted her, another trophy.

So no one was surprised that night, when she lost her dignity and challenging nature to the "merchant of death".

_February 2002_

Tony left poor Trinity when she found out she was about 1 month pregnant, leaving her alone to deal with a child she never wanted. That would eventually be a constant reminder of her heartbreak and the pain.

_Halloween 2002_

Novalis Lee-Stark was born. Trinity was furious that she went through with having the child, even as she held her newborn, she wished for vengeance. No one could quench her thirst for revenge against the bastard billionaire.

Novalis or "Nova" went on with her life without a father to protect her from the wrath of her mother.

That brings us to today. Nova is 16 years old, almost 17, her mom refuses to let her home unless the police or social workers stop by to see how she is. Nova couldn't care less since she loved being out in the New York streets alone, away from her responsibilities and abusive mother. That's how it  always was, never changing. Until one fateful day.

 


	2. Stars Align

** Stars Align **

_Good morning_

_The Stars are out_

_Just hiding_

**Nova POV**

Most kids my age are learning how to drive, working to graduate college, or going on dates and staying out late. I was only doing one of those things: staying out late. Other than that, I was nothing like the other kids my age. I lived out in the streets, a rough life for a mere 12 year old. You'd probably think that someone like me-a 5' 2" tall girl who only weighed 93lbs-to survive a day in the streets alone. Yet, I'd survived 4 years barely going home, all alone in the streets. Well, I wasn't _all_ alone; I'd made a friend in my street life, Korey.

Korey looked like a ladies' man, but was far from it. He was dating some guy named Adam, who Korey referred to as Ada to not raise suspicions. Korey's messy black hair contrasted my own dark red curls that fell gently in a ring around my shoulders. He was tall and buff, but still thin, so you wouldn't expect him to pack a mean punch in. He had bright blue eyes that you could get lost in easily, any girl-or boy-would swoon over them.

My own complexion was so mismatched I could be a kindergartener's project, or a ragdoll. My slightly curly dark red hair was offset by my hazel colored eye, but was complimented by my blueish purple one. I always wore a dark red or black hoodie that said "Talk to the sunglasses" and a red New York hat. I also had beat up black converse, that I always wore. The two pieces of technology I owned were an old iPhone 5 that only had texting and music, not even cellular since I didn't have a plan, and a pair of headphones.

I was walking home from the café Korey and I hung out at every Saturday, when I saw a man stealing a woman's purse. I ran at him and felt a surge of adrenaline, I vaguely heard the woman screaming at me to stop. I saw why, the man had hands fizzing with lightning sparks. I ignored that and kept blindly surging forward at him. I was a few feet away when he reached to shock me, but a magical essence radiated off me, so he just zapped himself. I ripped the purse from his grasp, and I finally noticed an energy floating around me, it was blueish purple, like my eye. I shook my head vigorously and saw nothing, maybe I imagined it. I walked to the lady who's purse I now held. She was brunette, but her hair seemed more auburn than brown. Her blueish gray eyes flashed red, as if she was trying to read me. I shoved the purse in her hands, "here." "Thank-" I ran off before she could even finish thanking me. I felt that for some reason I'd seen her before.

I narrowly managed to get home, I felt as if the woman from earlier had been trying to follow me, but I evaded her attempts. Maybe I was just being slightly paranoid. I got on a lousy WiFi signal and googled the Avengers. I saw Scarlet Witch's photo and gasped. I'd gotten Scarlet Witch's purse back to her. My stomach spun around in knots, I was now on the Avengers' radar, whether I liked it or not. I heard a loud bang and knew my mom was home. Boy was I in for it.


	3. Never Burned Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof another update yay!

**Never Burned Out**

**Nova POV**

I stood, petrified, as my mother stumbled drunkenly into the room. She glared at me and threw her empty vodka bottle at my feet, it shattered and glass went up to my face. It pricked my cheek and made a slash under my eye. I flinched slightly, but it didn’t hurt; it used to, but I’m so used to it now. The numbness that plagued me every time this happened began to seep into my veins slowly. “Stupid child. You’re just the image of a bastard billionaire!” My mother spat more drunken slurs at me, hoping to damage me emotionally. She began getting more violent, throwing many more things at me. I evaded most of the stray objects, but I was hit in the eye with a baseball. I whimpered, knowing it would bruise. I quickly covered my mouth, realizing I had shown slight weakness, something my mother hated. Her eyes flared, “you show weakness. You fool! You shouldn’t be surprised, dumb piece of shit! Burn in Hell!” A growl left my throat, followed by a string of angry curses, “You never loved me! You’re a horrible excuse for a parent! I get it, you’re mad that dad left, but shit happens! I’ve been alone for all my life, fuck you!” Anger seemed to radiate off of her, and I instantly regretted speaking my mind. “You have 5 minutes to pack up and get out, then I’ll come hunting for you.” Fear coursed through me, I was going to die. Without missing a beat, I ran to my room and began shoving shirts, jeans, undergarments, and other memories into my favorite backpack. I pulled out my supply of freeze dried strawberries and a water bottle. It would have to suffice for now. 

Dashing out of my room, I escaped into the apartment hall and down the stairs. Soon I was greeted by the cold night air. I felt as if I’d swallowed a rock, a weight in my stomach made me realize: I wasn’t ever coming “home” again. If I could even consider this a home. 

With no where to go, I began aimlessly wandering through the streets. No one questioned me, many teens would roam the streets of New York at night, so I hardly stood out from the crowd. I ended up going to Manhattan Bridge. I stood on the path where people could walk, I stared out at the moonlit water. The ripples made the light dance and shimmer, as if it was dancing. A sad smile captured my lips. It was stupid to be even slightly hurt about being kicked out of the house. My mother would barely remember it in the morning anyway, so what was the point? Why was I feeling the weight in my stomach and the lump in my throat that you get when you're sad? All my life I had been so void of emotions, so this felt so wrong.

Before long the numbness returned, I set down my backpack. Without thinking, I took off my hat and felt an icy gust of wind blow through my curls, pushing the hair out of my face. A tear slowly trickled down my cheek, I didn't have the energy to wipe it away. I stood with my back to the water below, hair now getting in my face, making only a slight tunnel for me to see cars racing by, not noticing the petite girl standing on the ledge. I let myself fall back, holding my hat in one hand, my backpack still peacefully sitting where I used to stand. I saw the cars become further away, as did the bridge. I felt the moonlit waters trying to greet me, to pull me in, to join the many others who'd done the same as me. Before I could close my ayes and be in peace, someone grabbed me. I saw _the_ Iron Man holding me, usually some would scream in joy or be star struck, but in this circumstance, I was upset. "Let me down!" I growled, he grabbed my backpack and flew me towards the mainland. I hissed in frustration, "listen tin can, I didn't want your help, so it'd be nice if you dropped me from here, or put me back on the bridge. Sound good?" No reply. Great. As he kept flying we were getting closer and closer to Avengers Tower, oh no.


	4. A New World

**A New World**

**Nova POV**  
  
We landed on the roof, and the man Tony Stark himself stepped out of the suit. He grabbed my backpack and my arm. I was dragged down into a room, I struggled against him, but to no avail. I was pushed onto a sofa, and Tony sat opposite me in a chair. "Why the hell did you bring me here?" I snarled, anger coursing through my veins giving me a rush of adrenaline. "That's not the thank you I expected," he said, arching an eyebrow as he got up to grab his drink off the table. I flinched and backed away subconsciously. "So, you're probably wondering why I brought you here," Tony said, sitting casually and sipping his drink. "Yeah, that's why I asked, dipshit." "One, Language. Two, I brought you here because you're on my radar. There's talk of a crimefighting girl, she stopped a robber from stealing Scarlet Witch's purse, and she's caused a few criminals to get arrested." Oh yeah, I found it fun to fight criminals sometimes, I'd only caught 2 guys, but was that seriously all it took for the Avengers to notice me? And how did people find out about that? "How do you know that's me? I'm just some random kid," I sassed, glaring at him and crossing my arms. The whole "I'm a snarky teenager" package deal. "I'm Tony Stark." "No, you're _clearly_ the UPS man." We had a silent staring contest, then I bolted.

I raced out to the ledge we came on, and jumped off, I realized halfway that I'd grabbed my backpack somehow. Dang I was good. I hit the ground, but without a single scratch. The aura I'd seen earlier was back, and it seemed to be protecting me. I only had one place in my head, the vision was so strong it could've been real. Korey's house. I scrambled up a ladder to an apartment building and started running on rooftops. I was almost to Korey's apartment when I miscalculated my jump. I made it across, but I snapped my ankle. I bit my lip so I wouldn't shriek. I collapsed down, "this is no time to be an Annabeth, I'm not even searching for a statue of my mom and fighting spiders. How lame is this?" I glared at my broken ankle, "really now?" The ankle did not reply. I hobbled the rest of the way to Korey's house. I climbed-well more like fell-through his trapdoor. I landed on the floor, scaring him nearly to death.

"Oh hey," I waved deliriously at him. Black spots were inching their way into my field of vision. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ANKLE! GOOD GODS ARE YOU MAD?!" Korey shrieked, helping me into a sitting position. I smiled weakly, "dumb rooftops. I was running away from Iron Man." "Are you high?" He asked seriously. I laughed, "no! But I wish this was all a dream, even a hallucination." He gave me a grim look, then helped me set my ankle into place. I winced, pain flaring up in my ankle. "Sorry," Korey murmured, wrapping up my ankle with some ice. "So, explain."

I told him the whole story, he nodded along and gave me interactive expressions. "So now I'm on the run from the Avengers," I concluded. Korey shook his head, "turn yourself in." "Excuse me, what?" I gave him an incredulous look, he was joking, right? "You know you can't stay interested in the chase forever, so you'll turn yourself in eventually. Also, you can't be running on an ankle like that." Damnit. Korey was being reasonable, and logical and stuff. "Fine. But in the morning, and you'll come with me," I bargained (Dormammu that u?). "Okay," he smiled. "Lets sleep," I mumbled, letting the pure exhaustion of the day take me over. "Goodnight Nova," Korey whispered. "G'night Korey." 

 


	5. Jump In Headfirst

**Jump In Headfirst**

**Nova POV**

I decided to take Korey's advice, but I felt... I needed to do this alone. I left him a note.

_Hey Korey;_

_I know you'll be confused, but I know I have to do this alone. I am taking your advice, I will be going to Avengers Tower. If I get WiFi, I'll text you. BYEEEE!_

_-Novalis Stargirl ;)_

I always signed everything with Novalis Stargirl, or Nova Stargirl. I had no reason to do it, I just thought it sounded cool.

I strolled up to the Tower and limped inside, to be greeted by a secretary. Apparently, Tony had told everyone about me because the minute she saw me, her eyes widened and she pressed a button, "Tony, she's here." I smiled, "shall I wait in here?" "No, no hon. Follow me," the secretary smiled sweetly, and we walked-well I limped- into a fancy waiting room. "Wait here, Mr. Stark will be with you shortly." I nodded at her instructions. She left and I grabbed my phone and went on Spotify. I hit shuffle on my playlist: Meep. (An actual thing I have) I realized my favorite song Colors by Halsey came on.

I began singing along when the melody hit, " **Everything is blue! His pills, his hands, his jeans and now I'm covered in the colors pulled apart at the seams. And it's blue... and it's blue. Everything is grey, his hair, his smoke, his dreams. And now he's so devoid of color he don't know what it means, and he's blue, and he's blue.** " I got bored of the song and paused it, when I noticed two people in the room, Tony Stark and Pepper Potts. Shoot. "Uh, hi," I nodded sheepishly as they smirked and giggled. Tony walked up, "you got a real talent kiddo." I blushed, "um thanks, I think." He chuckled, "come on up, we have business to discuss. I nodded, "umm, no stairs right? I kind of broke my ankle." I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. "Oh, uh yea, no stairs. Well lets go." He helped me limp to the elevator and pressed the button for one of the top floors.

I guess if I was diving into this life, I'd go in headfirst.


	6. Hero time is no time

**Hero time is no time**

**Nova POV**

I hobbled out of the elevator once the doors opened. Tony led me to a meeting room and I saw agents run up to me. They held my hands behind me and cuffed my hands. Tony looked like he was arguing with someone in front of us. “Hey Agent dude, can you... not? How many of your threats are unarmed and have a broken ankle?” I asked, gritting my teeth. “Umm, I uh-“ His face flushed and he took the handcuffs off, but I was still heavily guarded. I smirked, I wanted payback. “Is that light flickering or is it me?” I asked with fake innocent confusion. He stared at the light and I slipped his phone into my pocket. “Hmm, doesn’t seem like it,” he said, looking back at me. I nodded, “eh, I guess I was wrong.” We walked into a big room where... all the Avengers were sitting down. As soon as I entered, they turned to stare at me. “That’s her,” Scarlet Witch said, staring me down. I suppressed the urge to squirm under the pressuring stares. “Hey everyone,” I waved awkwardly. I heard Tony snort behind me, I gave him a hard glare but turned back to the rest. I sat down at a chair farthest from everyone. 

“So, Wanda alerted us of you, she said you saved her from a mugging, I think it was," Captain America stated, leaning towards me. I nodded nonchalantly, "yea and? I was just helping out." "You basically created an energy shield from her description, so you must realize that's more than just a normal 'helping out'." "Okay... I didn't know what it was. I've never done anything like that before. I began discreetly fiddling with the agent's phone from earlier. I found the sound system and connected to it. I had to suppress a smirk. "That's what we're afraid of, if you have more than just a shield and you can't control it, you could endanger the public.” “What are you proposing?” I asked, arching an eyebrow, flipping through my music. I clicked pause on Baby Shark. “Join us, you become a hero, and your life improves from jumping off bridges and living in the neighborhood, to hanging out with THE Avengers” Stark said, smiling. He thought I would never refuse the offer. “That’s nice and all, but,” I hit play, “you’d need higher protection.” I jumped up on the table as Baby Shark blasted from the speakers throughout all Stark Tower. Then I got yeeted out the window.


	7. Fire

**Fire**

**Nova POV**

I wasn't originally planning on joining them, but it's easy to be persuaded when you're being threatened. Especially when the only thing from keeping you from falling to your death is a magical red energy. So of course I did the sensible thing, "OKAY OKAY I'LL JOIN!" I yelled, trying to hold onto anything to keep me from falling. Wanda nodded and brought me back in. The song had stopped, Stark was glaring at me, Cap looked concerned, Widow stared through me, seeming to read my soul. I tensed but remained quiet. As they continued to give me looks I stared at the floor, "so do I have a room or something?" "Yes, we'll show you right to it," Stark said, gesturing to Steve. I nodded and walked with them, I was still limping, but I was fine to walk. They showed me to a small white room. "We can hire painters and you can decorate if you want us to," Cap said, smiling encouragingly. I shook my head, "I can manage alone." They both nodded and left me to my room.

**Timeskip**

A knock came from the door about half an hour later. I'd just been flipping through channels on the small TV in my room. I asked for a small one, not a huge Stark flat screen. I opened the door, it was Wanda. She held my backpack out to me, "I got this from your friend, he visited a minute ago, figured you'd want to be alone." She said sweetly. "Thanks," I smiled and closed the door. I pulled out my hat, long forgotten in the backpack and put it on. Feeling much better instantly.

But it didn't last. The news channel came on, **WARNING: FIRE SWEEPS THROUGH APARTMENT IN BROOKLYN OUTSKIRTS!**

I stared at the building in question... that was... MY MOMS APARTMENT!

I raced out of my room, running at top speed, I ran right into Tony in my blind panic. "Where do you think you're going?" He asked sternly. "FIRE! BROOKLYN!" I panted out, trying to run past him. "Yea and?" He didn't seem to understand. "MY MOM LIVES THERE ASSHOLE!" I screamed, then ran out of the tower.

My hat was in my hands to risk it falling off in the wind and the fast pace I'd set. My hair flew wildly behind me and occasionally my hoodie strings would hit my face. I made it to the burning apartment, the fire fighters were there already, attempting to snuff at the inferno. I ran past all the authorities that told me to back away. Ringing filled my ears as I climbed the fire escape to my room window and jumped inside.

Smoke filled my lungs and I struggled to see anything. I managed to get to the main room, where my mom lay... unmoving. I resisted the urge to gasp and fill my lungs with more smoke. I checked her pulse, crouching down next to her. Nothing. She died.

A wail left my throat, causing smoke to make my vocal chords burn. Sobs racked my body and I held my mother's limp form. She'd never loved me while she lived, but she did try to make sure I didn't fall off the edge of the map. She hurt me, but she was hurting too. I felt my magical aura form around me, blocking out the smoke as I lay over my mom's dead body, in a sobbing heap.


	8. You're not alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for such a long unannounced hiatus, I needed a break to sort of get myself mentally where I want to be. I feel so much better now and I'm ready to write again. This book will either be updated on Wednesday or Friday almost every week. Love you all thank you so much for being patient

**You're Not Alone**

**Nova POV**

It had been a week after the fire. I hadn't left my bed in days, I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Sometimes I would eat bits of food that one of the Avengers brought me. Most of the times I didn't even touch the food. I didn't know what to do or feel. Sure my mother was horrible to me, but she was the only family I'd ever known. And now... she was gone. Tears pricked my eyes again just from thinking about her.

She always called me the product of a bastard billionaire boyfriend. I don't know any billionaire that she would've been with, but I guess I do have a father somewhere out there. Stark has asked me multiple times if I wanted to do a blood test or DNA test to find out who my father is, but if he wasn't there for my mom when she was pregnant, why would he be here for me now? Would he even want to meet me, the accident child.

My downward spiral of negative thoughts was interrupted by Wanda opening the door. She was the only avenger who I'd think of as close to. She came and sat on my bed and put her hand on my leg. "Stark wants you to come down to the lab," Wanda said, her sweet voice echoing in the empty room. "Do I have to?" I sighed, propping myself up onto my elbows. "Please?" Her eyes stared into my soul and I finally caved.

I walked down to the lab and sat on the counter that was cleared. Stark walked over with an unreadable expression. "Well, we have answers for you," he said, looking over me. I tilted my head, did he know who my father was. Seeming to read my expression, he shook his head, "first things first, we know what special abilities you have." "Okay, what would that be?" I crossed my left leg over my right leg and leaned forward, faking intrigue. "You have the ability known as Cosmic Energy Manipulation or Cosmokinesis. It means you can manipulate energy from the cosmic forces of our universe and bend them to you will."

I nodded, "interesting. So that explains the weird auras and shields I can create to protect myself." "Exactly," Stark said, a smile crossing his face. I sighed and hopped off the counter. I stretched out then turned towards Stark again. "Is that it?"

It was silent for a moment, then Stark shook his head, "there's one more thing." I looked at him confused, "what is it?"

"I found out who your father is..." he spoke confidently, which I appreciated since I hated pity when it came to my father. "Who is it?" I couldn't face him, I felt a lump in my throat that I couldn't swallow.  "16 years ago, Trinity Lee was an aspiring astronomer and MIT graduate. She knew someone at school who assumed he was always with other girls and she couldn't spare a minute for him, but even she decided to swallow her pride. That man..." he paused and took a deep breath.

"That man was me."


	9. Unwanted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I need to fix a few things that I didn't think about when I first started writing this story.   
> 1\. Nova's age is now 12 but she will turn 13 eventually in this story  
> 2\. This is 2015, after Ultron but before Civil War (2016)  
> 3\. Bruce will not show up until Ragnarok/Infinity War is in the story, same with Thor  
> 4\. I think I messed it up and I'm too lazy to go back and fix it, the Avengers are at the new facility not the tower.   
> That's it!

**Unwanted**

**Nova POV**

I was silent. The tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

"Nova, I am your father," Tony said, looking into my eyes with an emotion I couldn't read.

"This is a prank... right?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. This felt wrong, it just couldn't be true... right? Tony looked me up and down, I started to feel a wave of anxiety.

"I'm not joking Nova, I'm your biological father," Tony's voice sounded sincere, but it was so hard to believe he could really be my father.

"No, no... you're lying. Stop lying to me! It's not funny... you can't be my dad. My dad is dead! My mom told me my father died!" I screamed at him, tears threatening to fall from my eyes. Tony shook his head, "she lied to you. I'm your father Nova, I'm not lying to you." "Fine, what was my mother's name then!" I yelled, still not believing him. "Her name is Trinity Lee," Tony said, not breaking eye contact with me. "Was..." I whispered, but I knew Tony heard me. "I'm sorry Nova, I know you're probably confused. I know I'm probably the last person you'd want as a father, but I swear if you give me a chance I can make things better for you." 

As much as I wanted to believe him, I had to have one question answered first. "Tony... why did you leave my mother?" 

It was silent, Tony had a guilty look on his face and he didn't say anything. I shook my head, "See... and you wonder why I can't trust you to be my father, you can't give me any answer..." I turned away and ran out of the lab. I ran down the halls of the facility and didn't stop. I kept running even when I had left the building. I knew no one was chasing after me, but I just needed to get away.

I returned when it was almost dark, I was tired from running all day, I just needed to rest. When I got to my "room" I heard Tony talking to presumably.

"Tony, she's a kid who never had parents who loved her. You weren't there for her and her mother was definitely not a good one. You can't blame her for anything," yeah that was Pepper. "Pepper, you think I don't know that? I wanted to be there for her, I reached out to Trinity but she never responded, and she might've gotten more dangerous towards Nova." Tony sounded sympathetic, but I didn't know if I could believe it. He left my mom, he was the reason she was so awful to me and she hurt me because she hated how much I reminded her of him. I sighed, but then I heard something that made my heart drop.

"Pepper... I think I should send her away."

That was all it took for me to jump up. He was going to send me to a foster home. Or he might even dump me out on the streets. Fear plagued every part of me and I couldn't calm my rapid breathing. I grabbed my backpack and my hat then carefully jumped out the window. My cosmic energy broke my fall and provided me with all I needed to run away from here. I wouldn't go to foster care, I couldn't let him hurt me. 

**Tony POV**

"Pepper... I think I should send her away." I sighed, rubbing my eyes. I was so tired, I didn't mean to be so rude... and I knew I was harsh on Nova. I should've told her the truth, maybe then she would understand what I felt at that time. "Tony, you can't do that. She has been with an awful family her whole life, at least try to take care of her." Pepper paced the floor in front of me. She was right, it wouldn't be fair to Nova. "What if I'm a horrible father?" I asked, sighing into my hands.

Pepper was about to say something, but she was cut off by Wanda running into the room, "Tony! Nova ran away, she took her bag and the window is open!"

This was my fault, but she just came into my reach, I couldn't let her leave and get hurt. I had to be there for her, hopefully if I found her she'd give me a second chance. 


	10. Chasing the Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the comments, I really love reading them and hearing your feedback on my writing.

**Chasing the Stars**

**Tony POV**

It has been 3 days since Nova left. We barely knew each other, yet I had to find her. I barely slept and spent all my time trying to get connections to where she could have gone. Her mother was gone, but she had to have some friends, right? I finally decided to search her room, she had taken her backpack, but Wanda said she had unpacked a few things before she vanished.

As I searched I found one paper that was crumpled up:

_Hey Nova,_

_If you need any help with your mom or if you need a place to stay my house is always open to you. You know that I'm always here for you when you need me to be, so just drop by whenever._

_~Korey Pullman_

Korey Pullman... he seemed to be a friend of Nova's based on the note. "Hey FRIDAY," I said out loud to my AI. "Yes boss?" "Get a search up on a Korey Pullman who lives in Brooklyn." FRIDAY took a moment then a screen popped up in front of me, "50 results for Korey Pullman in Brooklyn, shall I narrow down to people close to Ms. Stark's age?" Ms. Stark... Nova Stark, it had a good ring to it. I doubt Nova would have liked it though, she probably would've hated to be associated with me. "Boss?" FRIDAY's voice broke me from my thoughts. "Umm yeah sure that'd be great," I said, running a hand through my hair and watching the screen. "One result, Korey Pullman, age 16. He lives in between Brooklyn and New York City. He is approximately 4 miles from the Avengers Tower." I sighed, would I really go to Nova's friend to sort out family issues? To get her back, yes I would. "Navigate me there FRIDAY."

I got to the front door and knocked. A boy's voice answered through the door, "who's there?" "I'm family of Nova," I said loudly, I didn't want the whole neighborhood knowing Tony Stark was at this boy's door. "Nova doesn't have family," the boy sounded skeptical. "I'm her father." A moment of silence, then a tall, thin boy with black hair and blue eyes opened the door. "Hey, aren't you-" I interrupted him quickly, "yes I'm Tony Stark, now let me inside before someone notices me and the paparazzi shows up with all their cameras." I stepped inside and he closed the door and crossed his arms over his chest, "so Mr. Stark, what exactly do you want from me?"

**Nova POV**

I had been in the streets for 3 days now. I didn't see any sign of the Avengers. This was bittersweet, either I had gotten away so cleverly they had no clue where I could be, or they weren't looking for me. Maybe they didn't even notice I was gone. I stayed underground for the most part, the subway was an easy way to hide and get around quickly. I'd get on a train all the way till the end, go above ground to buy food with whatever money I'd stolen, then I'd pickpocket a metro card and go back underground till that train reached the end. I slept in alleyways behind dumpsters. I knew where gang activity was excessive and stayed far away from there.

Today was windy and I saw dark clouds coming towards New York. A storm would be here by nightfall, I didn't really want to sleep in the rain, so I would have to find somewhere indoors. Luckily, I had a place to go.

There used to be a station outside my mother's apartment, some accident happened there and the place was closed. My mom was furious and drank over it along with all her other problems, but I thought it was great. I had a place to stay when it was cold and my mother didn't want me in the house. It was where I used to go, and now I was alone again I should go back.

The night fell and I went to the station. I saw caution tape and construction signs, that was new. I snuck under the tape and went down the stairs. I went to my spot which was the other side of the station where people can't exit. As I crossed the tracks I saw a man walking towards me.

"Hey kid, I don't think you're supposed to be here," the man shined his flashlight at me. I felt something happening inside me, my power was starting to swirl around in my hands. "Kid! Did you here me? Get out of here!" He threatened me by pulling out his taser. In an act of fear I raised my hands at him and a blast of cosmic energy shot him backwards. He got up quickly, "I'm calling the police! You're crazy! You're one of the supernatural freaks! The Avengers will kill you!" He ran off into the streets.

Tears fell from my eyes and I looked at my hands which were still glowing with cosmic energy. "Go away!" I screamed at my powers, they still glowed brightly. "You're going to ruin my life! I'm a monster and it isn't my fault! It's not my fault!" I sobbed and collapsed on the ground.

I heard someone behind me and turned to see Tony Stark.   
"Hey kid, wanna go home," he asked opening his arms. I ran to hug him and nodded. Maybe I could have a home.

 


	11. Remember Your Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a backstory type of chapter! Expect more updates after June 5th when I'm out of school!  
> Hope you enjoy!

**Remember Your Past**

**Nova POV**

At the facility I had many more restrictions after my last escape. There were locks on the windows and cameras in my room. I didn't mind it. I realized this was the only family I had ever really had, and I shouldn't have given up on them so easily. My thoughts were disturbed by Tony coming into my room. He sat on the bed a few feet away from me. "So, why did you decide to run away?" He looked like he didn't really want to bring up the subject, but he did need an answer. "I... I heard you talking to Pepper. You said you were gonna get rid of me... I just assumed you didn't want me around," I said, my voice broke slightly and I had to blink away tears. "Get rid of you? I only wanted to find you a better home, I didn't think I could ever be good enough to take care of you. I'm sorry," he looked so sympathetic and disappointed in himself. "No I'm sorry, I should've have stuck around and just listened to you," I shook my head and pushed a piece of hair out of my face. "I guess we both have blame to share," he smiled. "I guess we do."

Over the next week I had become more comfortable with Tony, he came to my room more often to talk and show me some of his inventions. He even asked for my opinion on a few of his designs. I knew he didn't do this out of pity, he wanted a father-daughter relationship. It was comforting, and he didn't try to push me, he was giving me the space I needed, I really appreciated him doing this.

I was just scrolling through apps on my phone when Tony came into my room, "hey can you come to the lab with me?" "Now?" I asked, sitting up and swinging my legs onto the floor. "Yeah," he said, leading me out of my room. We went into the elevator and AC/DC blasted in the speakers. I mumbled the words, "I said, shoot to thrill, play to kill I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will. Cause I shoot to thrill, and I'm ready to kill and I can't get enough, and I can't get my thrill. Cause I shoot to thrill, play it again." Tony smiled, "you like AC/DC?" "Yeah, well sometimes," I smiled back. "What music do you listen to?" "Halsey, AC/DC, One Republic, Alec Benjamin, Panic!, Shawn Mendes, Julia Michaels, James Arthur, and sometimes Melanie Martinez," I listed off my most current playlist which I was really liking. "I listen to AC/DC and a lot of hard rock songs," Tony responded. "I like Queen and Led Zeppelin," I shrugged. "Not exactly hard rock, but okay," he laughed. I started to laugh, "that's not what I meant!" The elevator opened to his lab, there were so many inventions and works in progress, it was an engineer's dream. "Whoa," I was awestruck at all the technology. "Not bad, right?" Tony smirked, his ego showing. "Pfft, okay. I don't think your ego needs anymore boosting though."

Tony led me to a section with untouched equipment and tables that were very well organized, a huge difference to all the cluttered tables that Tony used a lot. "Why are these tables all clean and untouched?" I asked, checking out some of the equipment on the table. "It's yours!" Tony smiled, doing jazz hands. "Wait what?!" I was shocked, Steve and Nat had told me that he barely lets anyone in his lab, and he only let his friend Bruce participate in all that 'cool science stuff', yes those were their exact words. "Are you serious?" I asked, thinking this might be a prank. "I'm serious, do you like it?" He had a hopeful look on his face with puppy eyes. "I love it!" I squealed slightly and hugged him. I realized what I was doing and backed away, "ahh, sorry... I got excited." Tony smiled, "it's okay." I blushed with embarrassment. Tony cleared his throat to break the awkward pause, "there's one more thing," he pulled out a huge sketchbook and some fancy artist pens. "You can draw or sketch whatever, you can use it to design any inventions." "Thank you Tony, I love this so much," I smiled and mimicked his jazz hands from earlier. He smiled, "I'll leave you to it." He left the lab and went back upstairs.

I started learning to use the holograms and have FRIDAY walk me through all the steps of using each machine. I started using Tony's research journal to learn more about cosmic energy and cosmokinesis. There wasn't too much, only that it was caused by an event that created part of the universe. There was a separate note about: Infinity Stones. As I started reading more and more I learned a lot of cosmic energy was created and released when the infinity stones were first created. Celestial beings that controlled the stones caused the cosmic energy to be spread across the universe. I kept reading until I reached the end of the notes. The last page was all about New York in 2012, but most notes were unreadable. Suddenly a voice came from behind me.

"Whatcha doing?" Natasha. "Oh, just reading about cosmic energy and the infinity stones," I said, closing the hologram. "That last page looked like it was about New York, 4 years ago," Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Um yeah, it was all blurred out," I mumbled. "The mind stone was held captive by Loki, he also had the Tesseract. He summoned the Chitauri, an alien race that sought out to control Earth. The government sent a nuke to New York. Your dad flew the nuke into the Chitauri wormhole. He ordered me to close it to save the city, and at the last possible second he fell out," Natasha explained. "What did he see up there?" I was so curious, I wanted to know more. "I don't know, but don't ask him about it. He gets flashbacks and has PTSD and anxiety about the whole situation. He'll never tell you that, but I know it's true. So why did you research infinity stones?" Natasha questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. "I found out my powers might have been caused by the cosmic energy release from the creation of the infinity stones. In a way I could be linked to them, I don't know if it's true, but it does seem likely." Natasha nodded, "so your powers just kind of showed up?" "Well I just found out about them since they became active about two weeks ago," I said. "The only time the stones have ever been on Earth is the mind stone and tesseract in 2012, do you think it may be possible you acquired your powers then?" "That's the thing Nat... I don't even remember 2012. My mom sent me away to a facility and I came back feeling sick, but then they never answered my calls and I started to feel better after a few months, but I felt different I guess. Like my body might have adapted to something," I explained the best I could. I hated thinking of that time, it was all so fuzzy and it was almost painful to remember. Natasha was silent for a few moments, as if deep in thought. She finally spoke after five minutes had passed, "in 2014 we found out S.H.I.E.L.D. had been infiltrated by HYDRA, they probably had control of the stones for longer than we thought, it is very likely that 'facility' your mom sent you to was HYDRA." "No... that can't be right," I didn't want it to be true. Could I be just a result of an experiment made by the Avengers' enemies? "We don't tell Tony about this," I said, "I don't want him to become more worried for me, I mean all the stuff with my mom." "I won't tell him, but you better confess at some point, or I will have to talk," Natasha warned. "Thanks Nat," I smiled.

Tony's voice came over the intercoms, "dinner is ready!" I looked at Nat, "race you to the table?" "Oh you're so dead," she laughed.


	12. More Than a Fighter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! Two chapters this week. I'm trying to get chapters out pretty quickly while I still have inspiration. Also I've been writing ideas for future chapters so I need to get these out before I go to far ahead of myself. Hope you enjoy!

**More Than a Fighter**

**Nova POV**

I've had my own lab equipment for barely a week, but I've been working nonstop. I had already began designing targets that absorb the cosmic energy I produce so that when I'm training Tony doesn't have to keep replacing the destroyed targets. I was training with my new targets, I blasted them with full force, they didn't explode this time, but they did look pretty scorched. That was my best design so I would use them until I needed to make new ones. I started practicing manipulating my powers to my advantage. The only move I could execute was a floating attack, I could suspend myself in the air then do a few kicks or punches, but then my powers would give out and I'd fall. I was slowly learning my limits and how I could plan out attacks.

Natasha walked into the training room where I was learning moves with some knives. "You should hold it like them to throw them," Natasha took my hand and placed my thumb and index finger in a pinching position on the blade. "You don't hold the handle?" I asked, very confused. "For a blade that has an under rotate, when it's edge is pointed at a downward angle into the target, you grip it like that. Your wrist must remain stiff while throwing to get an exact angle, it takes a long time to perfect. Also if the knife you're using is sharper than this one you grip it like this on the handle, but since this one is a training knife you can grip the blade. Remember the sharp edge faces away from your palm, and you don't want to have your hand gripping far down on the blade," Natasha positioned me to throw the blade. I tried to follow her instructions carefully. "Have your dominant leg standing back with you weight on it, your other leg is in front. You'll shift your weight onto your front foot when you throw, bring your dominant leg up when you throw," she instructed. I knew how to do the arm follow through. I threw the knife and it went into the stomach of the target. It was my best throw I'd ever done. Natasha smiled at me, "you know you're getting pretty good." I smiled and grabbed the sharper training knife and mimicked the moves except since this knife was sharper I used the handle to grip. I threw the knife, my powers kicked in and the knife went straight into the side of the chest, but since my powers made my throw stronger, half the blade was stuck in the target.

After using all the knives, I wiped my forehead with a towel. Nat walked over to me, "we could use your skills. You're getting pretty good at using your powers and learning combat skills that are useful in fights." I shrugged, "thanks, I have a lot of room to improve though." "Nova, you're 12 years old, you have a lot of time to work on improving, but still you're getting better," Nat laughed. I smiled, "that's true." Sometimes I forget my age since I've been through a lot already. "I can talk to Steve about letting you do some smaller missions with the team," Nat said. "Well, you'll also have to ask Tony, I doubt that he'll approve of it," I muttered, Tony would probably get really protective of me. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I just didn't want to be kept away from doing missions and doing things that people with my abilities should be doing. "I'll talk to Steve then see if he can convince Tony, because if Steve says no then it isn't happening at all." I nodded, "okay, I'll keep training to matter what, though." "Good," Natasha smiled and walked out of the training room.

I was sketching some ideas for some new inventions that would help control and direct my powers when I heard Tony and Steve yelling at each other nearby.

"Tony, if Nova wants to go on missions you should let her! We don't even need to have her fight, she should get used to that kind of environment so when she is older and can fight with us she'll be ready," Steve shouted. They were fighting about me going on missions?

"She is 12 years old, Steve! Why should she be 'getting used to' a battlefield environment? I don't want to expose her to that yet, she is still a kid! I don't understand why you don't get it! She. Is. A. Child!" Tony sounded furious. I had a feeling he was going to get protective, but I didn't think it would upset him this much.

"Nova is more than just a kid! She has abilities that could be useful-" Steve tried to reason with Tony, but was interrupted, "is that it Steve? You just want her on the team to be 'useful'? Yes, she has abilities, but that shouldn't be the only reason you want her on the team!" Tony did have a good point, I could protect myself without all the cosmic energy manipulation.

"No Tony, you don't get it, we really could use another fighter."

"My daughter is more than just 'another fighter', okay Rogers? I will not send my daughter to a battlefield where she can watch the horrors a child should never be exposed to. She is the only family I have left, I will not lose her. I can't afford to lose anyone else." Tony's words really made me think. He was my only family left, and I was his only family as well. My actions would affect him more than I could ever imagine.

"Tony if you just thought about-" Steve's pleading tone had no effect on Tony, who interrupted him once more, "end of discussion, Rogers."

Tony walked into the lab and I went back to my sketches immediately, pretending as if I didn't hear any of the conversation. He sighed knowingly, "I know you heard all that." I nodded sheepishly, not looking away from my paper. He put a hand on my shoulder and I finally met his gaze, he smiled, "what do you say we leave for a bit, I know some good ice cream places around here." "Cheeseburger first," I said standing up, "I forgot to have lunch." "Cheeseburgers then ice cream, got it," he put on his sunglasses and we walked out to the garage. "Which one?" he asked pointing at his collection of stunning cars. I ran to the silver Audi. "Good choice," he smiled then turned on the ignition. We drove out of the tower, neither of us knew what would happen when we left.


	13. Cheeseburgers, Sundaes, and Car Crashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I've been publishing a lot lately, I just want to write more and more. Let me know in the comments what you think of the story and give me suggestions, or normal feedback. Hope you enjoy!

** Cheeseburgers, Sundaes, and Car Crashes **

**Nova POV**

Tony and I were at a table in the back of Burger King. I was basically inhaling the burger while Tony look his time eating and talking about random subjects. After a moment of silence he decided to come up with a conversation game. "How about I start with a topic, then you give me your ideas on it, I'll say my thoughts, then you choose a new topic?" He smiled encouragingly. I knew he really wanted to get to know me, and I was willing to participate. "Okay, you start," I said with my mouth full of cheeseburger. "Okay let's start simple, favorite hobby?" "I really like drawing, writing, and sometimes singing," I said, "you?" "Working on cars and designing new technology." "Okay... uh, I don't know," I smiled nervously. "Come on, I know you can think of something," he smiled at me. "Okay, favorite thing to eat?" I chose something random that popped into my head. He motioned towards the cheeseburger in front of him, "best in America, but also the worst." I smiled, "true, I like clam chowder. My friend Korey makes some killer bacon clam chowder."

This game continued with favorite colors, music, and cars.

"You're telling me you prefer Audis over Mustangs? A red convertible Mustang would leave your silver Audi eating dirt," I smirked, eating a fry as Tony laughed and shook his head. "How dare!" He feigned offense at my comment I laughed. "How 'bout we leave and go get some ice cream?" Tony asked while clearing our table. I stood and helped him clean the table off. We got into the car and Tony drove us to the nearest ice cream shop.

We were singing along to Immigrant Song as we drove through the streets. We pulled up at the ice cream shop and walked inside. The place was mostly empty, except for two workers behind the counter and an older man eating some ice cream at one of the front tables. I ordered one scoop of mango raspberry sherbet in a waffle cone.

I sat at a table that was by the window, but it was far enough in the corner that it wouldn't be easy to observe Tony Stark eating ice cream with his secret daughter. That would be an interesting article. I stared out the window lost in my own thoughts. I had never gone to an ice cream shop with anyone except Korey. I hadn't seen Korey in a couple weeks, I should go visit him if I can convince Tony to take me. Korey's boyfriend Adam was supposed to be in town sometime soon, which meant Korey would be extra happy and more willing to go out than usual. I didn't know too much about Adam, I'd only met him once before. I barely remembered what he looked like, I think he was tall, had dark purple hair that was faded into a blonde color at the roots. That was all I could remember about him, except for the fact he was always around Korey when he visited, and he never liked talking to me. I always felt like he was hiding something from me.

My thoughts were interrupted when Tony pulled a chair out and sat down across from me. "Whatcha thinkin' about, you looked pretty concentrated," he took a bite of his ice cream. My jaw dropped, "you heathen!" "What?" he looked genuinely confused. "You don't take a _bite_ out of ice cream! That is an actual sin!" I backed away jokingly. He laughed, "to hell I shall go." I laughed and scooted back up to the table. "Anyways, I was thinking about Korey, I haven't seen him in a while, Korey's my friend-" I began to explain but Tony cut me off, "I've met him." "You have?" I had no clue Tony knew Korey. "When you left, I found a crumpled note from him, I had FRIDAY make a search for him, I met him and he tipped me off to where you could've gone to," he chose his words carefully which I understood, it was a sore subject. "That makes sense," I paused to lick my ice cream, "would it be okay if I went and saw him sometime?" "Sure, he was a pretty cool guy," Tony agreed as he started biting his waffle cone. "Thanks," I smiled and finished up my ice cream. "So I have to ask, who's your favorite Avenger?" Tony smirked as he said it. I knew he wanted me to say him, "hmm, not sure." I said playfully. "Oh come on, you can tell me, I know you must have a favorite," he urged trying to get an answer from me. "It's a hard choice... but I'd have to say Scarlet Witch or maybe Black Widow," I smirked. He scoffed, "really? I mean women are our heroes." I smiled and threw away my napkin. Truth was, my favorite Avenger was him, but I didn't feel a need to inflate his ego anymore than it already was. We got into the car and started driving back to the tower.

Everything was good until I noticed a car going way over the speed limit coming towards us. Tony noticed it too, he tried to swerve away but the car turned towards us. In a panic I threw my hands up and a cosmic energy field appeared around the whole car, just as the other car was about to collide with us. The force of the collision caused us to spin out, but the other car was almost flattened in the front. My forcefield had protected our entire car. Tony was breathing heavily and shaking, I got out of the car and ran to the other car. There was only one man in the driver's seat, but the backseat was full of guns and ammunition, he was heavily armed, but he was in a horrible condition. He was barely breathing and blood was spilling from his mouth, I approached the driver side window which was shattered. "Who are you? Why were you attempting to kill us?!" I screamed at him. His head lulled to the side so he could face me. "Hail... HYDRA," it was barely a whisper, but it shook me to my core. I vaguely heard Tony screaming at me, I felt my head pounding and ears ringing. Suddenly Tony jumped and tackled me away from the car just as it exploded. Debris fell all around us as the explosion died down. Tony was shielding me from all the big pieces of debris. A black car pulled up and two figures exited the vehicle, I recognized the man to be Nick Fury. "Maria Hill, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. you're safe now, we're bringing you back to the tower," the woman who was with Nick Fury helped me up, but Tony gripped my arm, "she stays with me." I went to Tony's side and he nodded firmly at Agent Hill. "We're going back to the tower," he brought me back to the car, and we sped back to the tower with the S.H.I.E.L.D. car not far behind us.


	14. Hail Hydra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting in a hot minute. I got a summer job and have been super busy, but today's my day off! Hope you enjoy.

**Hail Hydra**

**Nova POV**

Tony called an emergency meeting. Everyone was in the room, I stood to the side of the room, distancing myself from the rest of the group. Everyone sat at the table except Tony who stood at the front. Fury joined me and stood next to me in the corner of the room. "What's the meaning of this, Tony?" Nat asked looking concerned. "I almost died today. Nova almost died today. There was a man in a car who came speeding toward us with an intent to kill," Tony said, his gaze going to me for a split second then turning back to the team. "How do you know he had the intent to kill?" Steve asked arching an eyebrow at Tony. "When we saw him heading towards us we swerved and he turned back towards us," Tony said, staring at Steve with seriousness. "Not to mention his entire backseat was filled with guns and ammunition," I said, lifting myself off the wall. "Other than that, the driver was unknown," Tony said, pushing a hand through his hair. I walked up to the front, "he wasn't unknown." Everyone turned towards me in confusion. "When I approached the wrecked car, I confronted what his motives were and he only whispered two words." I looked Steve in the eyes, "hail Hydra." Steve shook his head, "that can't be true we wiped out Hydra with SHIELD." "That can't be true because your mind doesn't want to think this bullshit is true," Fury said. I was confused, "I don't know too much about Hydra... weren't they formed back in WWII?" "Yeah, they just come back again and again," Steve growled, clenching his fists. "I have one more question, how did you survive the crash," Fury asked, staring me down. Tony answered when I didn't, "Nova used her powers to create a forcefield that protected the whole car." Fury nodded, pulled out his phone, and left the room. I was really confused and everyone was silent. Fury walked back in the room, "I talked to Secretary Ross, he knows about the situation and he says Nova should be on the team." "Absolutely not," Tony was dead serious in his tone. "Tony-" Steve went to argue but Tony cut him off. "You don't get it Steve. You don't understand, she's not your kid. You don't have a kid so you won't get it." "You're right, but about a few weeks ago you didn't have one. I think she should make the decision herself," Steve said, rolling his eyes at Tony. "She shouldn't have to be exposed to this kind of stuff," Tony said, slamming his hand on the table. Steve stood up, "she has to be able to protect herself Tony!" "Tony, how about we do more training with Nova, Wanda and I can help her control her powers," Nat suggested. I nodded, "that seems most reasonable. Tony, I want to help, and this is the best way to do let me help without putting me in immediate danger." "Fine. No missions yet though, we'll work up to that," Tony finally agreed.

I went back to my room after the meeting ended. I felt dizzy and sat on my bed. Suddenly flashing visions appeared before my eyes. A man being injected with serum. Screaming. Doctors or scientists running to him and giving him more injections. More screaming, then silence. I felt my own powers becoming strangely uncontrollable. I was floating above the ground. Then suddenly a symbol of a skull with tentacles appeared-Hydra. I fell down my vision going dark, but I never hit the ground I was gone, no longer on Earth.


End file.
